Jai and Jinx
by newsiesgirllaces
Summary: Jai is a caring 17 year old and Jinx is her timid little sister. Their lives have never been the greatest, but after a run in with penguin, the two manage to get some help from Bruce Wayne. One thing though, these two are homeless metas. And they both aren't exactly what they seem.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a story that has been nagging me for what i think has been about a year or two. So lease enjoy and tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcomed and wanted. **

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.1

"Jai." Whimpered a small voice. "Jai, I'm scared."

"Shhh. It's gonna be alright." Another, older, voice whispered. Everyone else around them were silent except for the occasional sob and shifting feet.

They felt the dark truck they were confined in lurch to a stop, and the back door opened, small amounts of light streaming into the truck making the people inside wince.

"Out of the truck." Barked the man who took them. A small African American little girl holding an older mixed girl's hand timidly walked out.

"Jai…" she whimpered.

"Shhh, Jinx. It's okay." The older girl, Jai, tried to comfort.

"Shut up girl!" exclaimed the man, and other girls walked out of the truck along with Jai and Jinx.

They were lined up, but Jinx didn't stop holding onto Jai's hand tightly. Dogs barked at the girls, keeping them straight and afraid as they bared their teeth. Jinx stared at the dogs and looked over at Jai.

"Puppies." She whispered with a small smile.

"Yes, Jinx. Puppies." Jai nodded.

Into view came a short fat man with a pointy nose and a monocle.

"Will these ladies do, Mr. Cobblepott?" questioned the man who took them. Mr. Cobblepott nodded as his eyes lingered over all of the girls.

"I'm not sure about the little one though." He stated, his eyes locking on Jinx. Jai saw him eyeing the little girl, and her grip on Jinx's hand tightened.

"The little brat was with the brunette wandering the streets. She wouldn't leave without her. I figured that she would grow into a striking young woman that you would also enjoy." The man informed, a sick smile on his face. Mr. Cobblepott seemed to think over this, then nodded.

"Very well." He handed the money over to the man and then turned to the girls.

This was slavery. Women were being kidnapped and sold to people in Gotham right under the government's nose. And rich men, like Mr. Cobbleptt a.k.a the Penguin, had plenty of unknown spaces that could hold the girls.

Many of the girls looked scared and broken. Many of them were either slaves before or were previously abused. All except for Jinx and Jai.

Jinx looked scared, but was far from broken. Jai, on the other hand, held her head up high, and didn't look away and tremble when the Penguin glanced her way. Jai wasn't weak.

The Penguin enjoyed women. He usually gave them to his favorite guards or trained them to be waitresses at his iceberg lounge, but he did occasionally keep a few for himself.

"Hello Ladies." He said with a sickening smile. "You are going to walk inside this building, there, there will be men waiting for you. They will be your new masters. Is that understood?" he questioned, but was answered by the silence of broken women.

"I don't get it." Jinx whispered, but everyone heard her.

"Excuse me, but what did you say, my dear?" Penguin questioned as he stalked over to the little girl. Jinx hid behind Jai's leg, and Jai kept her strong look, glaring at the men.

"She doesn't understand what we did to deserve getting sold to you. And I personally don't get why we have to listen to what you say." Jai growled.

Penguin smirked at the girl, then turned to the rest of the women.

"Everyone head inside." He instructed, and all the women did so except for Jai and Jinx.

"You two are going to be mine." Penguin informed with a happy smile.

"Like hell we are, you low life pig." Jai growled, eyes narrow.

"Come now, do not be like that. Being mine is fun." He chuckled. "I can give you names. Like, you are Victoria, and your little friend is April."

"No." Jai stated sternly. "I am Jai and she is Jinx." She growled. "Now tell us where we can get out of here."

Penguin quickly pulled out his umbrella and pointed it at Jinx.

"Please be more civil. I do not need the little girl, and this umbrella shoots bullets." He smiled.

Jai frowned as she looked down at Jinx.

"Jai…" the little girl whimpered.

"It'll be okay." Jai whispered then looked at Penguin. "What do you want us to do?" Jai questioned, her voice tight with anger.

"For starters, you can call me master." He informed and Jai grunted. However, she looked down at Jinx and her welfare was Jai's first priority.

"As you wish… master." She sounded like the words pained her to say.

"Good girl, now follow me to this room." Penguin said, beckoning to a room to the left.

"Jai, can you read?" Jinx inquired, and the older girl understood what she was referring to as she looked up from the shadow coming from the Penguin.

"Yes Jinx, I can read. Can you speak now?"

"Yes, I spoke earlier." Nodded the little girl.

Before Penguin could ask them what they were talking about, three of the guard dogs came charging at him.

In that moment, Jai pulled Jinx to a door that led to the exit, knowing the entire building's layout just as well as the Penguin did.

"Jai…" Jai quickly pulled the little girl up onto her back for a piggy back ride, knowing that the younger girl was too weak to run for a long time, and sprinted with the girl clutching her tightly.

The girls found themselves in a city, but that didn't stop them from continuing to run.

Jai sprinted to an abandoned looking building and ran inside. She quickly hid behind what looked like a crate and Jinx climbed down from her back.

Both girls sat there in front of each other, and were hugging each other tightly.

"J-Jai?"

"Yeah Jinx?" she whispered, panting.

"What was that man going to do to us? What did you read from him?" Jai shivered and shook her head.

"He was going to do bad things to us. Just… bad things, Jinx. We can't let him find us again. We _can't_."

"Hiding from something?" both girls jumped at the voice, and turned around to see a tall burly man standing in front of them.

Jai and Jinx stood to their feet, and Jai stood in front of the little girl protectively.

"Calm down girly, I'm not going to hurt you." The man said, his voice calm and relaxed.

The man had curly thick black hair, blue green eyes, and was wearing a black leather jacket.

"Who are you?" Jinx questioned in a small voice.

"The name's Jason, squirt. Jason Todd." He smirked. "What about you?" Jinx looked up at the older girl, unsure of what to do.

"I am Jai." The girl stated. "And this is Jinx. We are here because we pissed someone off and now they might be searching for us." Jai informed and the man raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Who exactly are you running from, babe?" he inquired, but Jai didn't know if she could trust him, not to mention she never exactly liked being called babe.

"We don't need to tell you anything." Jai stated firmly, her brows furrowing over her grey eyes.

"I didn't say that you had to, but I may be able to help if it's an enemy of mine." He informed, but looked a bit intrigued.

"What if we were running from one of your friends?" Jai inquired, and Jason chuckled.

"I don't have many friends." Jai looked a bit apprehensive, but figured that she'd start running if the guy was friends with Penguin. She grasped Jinx's hand, ready to run.

"Mr. Cobblepott otherwise known as the Penguin. That's who we're running from." She stated, and Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you running from that douche bag?" he inquired. The term douche bag directed at Penguin put Jai at ease.

"We were sold to him." Jinx whispered before Jai could explain. "He said that we were his."

Jason's eyes widened in shock, and his features hardened in anger.

"Just when I thought that Bastard couldn't get any worse." He grunted, mumbling to himself, and then looked back at the girls. His face softened, especially when he saw the scared expression on Jinx's face.

"Here, come with me. It's safer further inside here." He informed and Jinx looked up at Jai before she was going to trust the man.

"Alright." The older girl nodded, and the two followed the man deeper into the building into a room that had some guns lying on the table, and a laptop. The room was lit and their shadows were cast along the floor.

"Jai, are you gonna read?" Jinx whispered, and the older girl nodded her head.

"Read?" Jason inquired, looking at the girls questioningly.

Jai's eyes were looking down at Jason's shadow, while Jinx was looking up at the man. Suddenly, Jai looked up at Jason, and her eyes were wide.

"Jai?" Jinx questioned and the girl looked pained.

"Oh my god." She whispered, her grey eyes staring at Jason. "You… oh my god." Jason looked at her, utterly confused.

Her eyes started to water slightly, but she wiped them on her sleeve.

"Jai, are we safe here?" Jinx inquired, and Jai nodded her head, but didn't speak.

"What the hell is going on?" Jason questioned, his voice laced with confusion.

"I… read you. Your shadow told me, actually. I'm sorry, just… your life is a very sad story." She informed. "You just wanted love, and now all you feel like you can have is revenge." Jason stared at the girl wide eyed.

"How did you… you're a meta, aren't you?" Jai nodded her head.

"Yes. I am… well, _we _are." She informed as she wrapped and arm around Jinx. She usually wouldn't tell someone about her abilities so easily, but talking to Jason's shadow made her feel like she knew him personally. She knew that Jason wouldn't hurt them for being metas.

"What can you two do, exactly?" Jason questioned.

"If a shadow is present, I can speak to it, and it tells me everything about the person it's attached to, but shadows speak… differently. They don't use their voice. They basically portray a video in your head. Sure, it lasts about three seconds but it's like an hour to the viewer. That's what I can do." Jai informed.

"I talk to animals." Jinx informed. "and I can... morph." She stated, but the way she said it seemed shameful. Jason nodded, understanding that the little girl didn't want to explain more about her morphing. However, he froze, his eyes sharp, and his head tilted as if he were listening for something.

"Someone's just entered the building." Jason stated, and then grabbed one of the guns on the table.

"You two stay here." He instructed, and the two girls watched as the man left.

Jinx looked up at Jai, nervous.

"It's okay." She whispered, kissing Jinx on the forehead.

"Get out." They heard Jason growl to someone near the front of the building. A few moments later they heard a gunshot fire, and then Jason came walking back into the room.

Jinx gripped onto Jai's arm, her eyes focused on the gun. She looked terrified, but Jai was calm.

"You two are safe." He nodded. Jason saw the horrified look on Jinx's face, and he placed the gun back on the table. "Everything is going to be okay." He smiled at the girl as he knelt down in front of her.

"So, you're Jinx, and you're Jai, right?"

"Yes." Jai nodded. "My name is Jai."

"And I'm Jinx." The little girl nodded. "We're sisters." She informed happily. Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Sisters huh?" he questioned, and Jai gave Jason a pointed look.

"Yes. We are sisters." Jai stated firmly, and Jason nodded, understanding the look.

"So, how old are you two?"

"I'm seventeen." Jai stated.

"I'm eight." Jinx added. Jason looked them over, as if he were debating what to do with the two girls. He couldn't just kick them out with Penguin looking for them, but the hideout was set up more like a work space than a living space. He slept on a chair with his jacket as a blanket so getting the two some comfortable beds was out of the question if they stayed there.

Jason looked down at the little girl, Jinx, and noticed how she was hugging Jai's leg tightly, but her eyes were blinking slowly.

She was fighting off sleep.

Jason sighed, an idea coming into his head, but he didn't like it much.

"Where did you two live before you were kidnapped?" he inquired.

"Our home was amazing." Jinx said with a yawn, and Jai lifted her up, letting the girl lean her head on her chest.

"Jinx, get some sleep, alright?" she whispered, and that was all it took to get the little girl to drift off, going completely limp against the older girl. Jai looked up at Jason with a frown.

"We lived in an abandoned building in Metropolis." Jai informed. "I'd sing on the street for some spare cash, and I'd work as a night shift janitor for the Daily Planet." She sighed, looking down at Jinx.

"I found Jinx curled up at the abandoned building, asleep. Just by reading her shadow, I knew that she needed help, so I... took her in. Sure, money was really low, but she was safe. When I found her she was only four years old." She explained.

Jason looked at her curiously.

"You're a street kid?" he questioned, and she nodded.

"Yup. Both me and Jinx." Her eyes locked with his. "I know you know what it's like." Jason nodded.

"That's why I'm going to take you someplace where I know both you and Jinx will be safe for a while." He grinned, handing Jai a motorcycle helmet.


	2. Chapter 2

Chpt.2

When Jinx was asleep, she was _asleep. _Nothing could wake her up. Not even the motorcycle ride.

Jason drove Jai and Jinx to a giant manner, and once they reached their destination, Jason knocked on the door.

"Let me do the talking. I can tell you right now that they most likely won't be happy to see me." he stated, and the door opened to reveal a man with graying hair and blue eyes wearing a black suit.

"What a pleasant surprise, Master Jason." The old man grinned.

"Nice to see you too, Alfred." Jason grinned. "I was hoping to talk to Bruce about two friends I ran into. They might be able to help in the penguin case and they need some help of their own." He informed.

Alfred looked over at Jinx and Jai. Jinx was still asleep, and Jai was staring at his shadow. She looked up at the man with respect, and smiled.

Alfred frowned at the girls and quickly pulled them further into the manner.

"Oh, you two need food immediately." He stated and hurried off into the kitchen. Alfred noticed how the old baggy clothes hung off of both girls. They were very malnourished. Jinx more so than Jai, due to her finicky eating.

"Alfred seemed happy to see you." She stated.

"Yeah, because he's _Alfred. _But… it's strained between me and the rest of the family. Didn't you read that in my shadow?" he questioned, and Jai shook her head.

"Your shadow tells me about _you _not anyone else. Like… I know you died, but I dunno who killed you. I know you were adopted, but I dunno by who. That kinda stuff." She shrugged, and Alfred walked back into the room with a tray of food. On the tray was some fruits and vegetables, and some sandwiches with various meat inside.

"Please, eat." Alfred said with a small smile, he then turned to look at Jason. "Master Bruce will be back soon. He's currently busy with his night job." Alfred informed, and Jason nodded.

"I see. Well, when he gets back, tell him to come up here. We seriously need to talk." He stated.

"Of course." Alfred bowed, then looked over at the girls.

"Please, sit on the couch and help yourselves to the food." Alfred grinned, and Jai sat on the couch, then started to pat the little girl's back.

"Pup." She whispered. "Pup, c'mon Jinx get up for a second. We have some food." She said in a smooth voice, and the little girl blinked her eyes slowly, waking up.

"Jai… where are we?" she questioned with a yawn.

"Jason took us to a nice place so he could try to talk to someone he knows to help us." Jai explained. "But he's not here right now. Mr. Pennyworth was kind to offer us some food."

Jinx saw the tray of food, her eyes locking on the meat in the sandwich, and then looked up at Alfred.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she exclaimed happily as she got up and hugged the man's leg, becoming much more awake at the sight of food.

"It is not a problem, little Miss." He smiled, patting the girl's back. "Now, go and eat up."

Jinx ran back to the couch and grabbed one of the meat sandwiches while Jai ate some of the vegetables.

Just then they heard someone walking into the room.

"Hey Alfred, I'm back a bit early. D'you think you could help me with my British accent 'cuz I'm going undercov…" A man with black short hair and blue eyes who looked a bit older than Jason walked into the room .

"Hey Dickie-bird." Jason smirked. The man Jason referred to as Dick looked at him skeptically.

"Why are you here?" he questioned.

"I'm hurt, Dick." Jason pouted. "Not even a hello?" Dick continued to glare at the man and Jason sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Fine." Jason shook his head. "I'm here to talk to Bruce about helping out my two friends. Jai, Jinx, this is Dick." Jason smiled, and Dick looked over at the girls. "Dick, this is Jai and Jinx."

Dick had a soft spot for kids, he'd admit it. So the thin young girls made his heart break a little, however, he didn't entirely trust Jason.

"What do they need help with?" Dick questioned.

"Well, they can help Bruce with the Penguin case because they were being sold to him, but managed to get away. I was also hoping that Bruce could help them because they are also homeless metas."

"Metas?"

"Jai can talk to shadows, and Jinx can talk to animals and morph." Jason explained, and Dick raised an eyebrow.

"Morph into _what _exactly?" he questioned. Jinx's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"I-I'm _human_! I promise I'm human! I'm human! I'm human!" she exclaimed, and Jai grabbed onto her shoulders and looked her in the eye.

"We know you're human. We don't doubt you Jinx. You are _human_." She said in a smooth voice, and hugged the girl tightly, and looked over at the men.

"She doesn't like it when she morphs. It scares her." Jai informed. Dick nodded, smiling at the girl gently. He liked kids, and he didn't want to scare the girl.

"Hey, it's alright." He grinned.

Just then, a third person stalked the room, and his dark blue eyes locked on Jason.

"Jason…"

"I know, I'm not welcome here and all that shit." Jason sighed while he rolled his eyes. The man's eyes settled on the girls.

Jinx let out a low whimper, immediately scared of the man, while Jai placed a protective hand on the girl's shoulder.

The man noticed the protective display and the deadly look the girl was giving him. he turned his attention back to Jason.

"Bruce, that would be Jai and Jinx. They need your help because they're homeless, and they can help you in the Penguin case." Jason decided to leave out that they were metas. Bruce wasn't much of a fan of metas.

However, Jai's eyes widened as she stared at Bruce's shadow, then looked up at him.

"There's so much sadness." She whispered. "How come everyone here has sad backgrounds?"

Jason took Bruce aside to talk to him, while Jai shook slightly. Jinx immediately hugged the girl's leg tightly.

"Please don't cry, Jai." Dick looked at the girl and noticed how her eyes were starting to water. "You did a lot of reading, Jai." Jinx whispered. "And you haven't slept in a while. You should sleep."

"I'll sleep once everything is figured out, okay Jinx?" Jai whispered as she wiped her face with her sleeve. However, she didn't stop shaking.

Dick walked over to the girl without warning and hugged her tightly. Jai accepted the hug and sobbed into his shoulder, shaking hard and clutching onto him like he was her life line.

Her breathing slowed and she slowly went limp in Dick's clutch.

"Jinx… is she okay?" Dick inquired as he held Jai, and gently placed her on the couch.

"When she reads a lot… it takes a lot out of her. Especially depending on what she sees." Jinx frowned. "I guess a lot of you have sad stories. I had a sad story. That's why Jai became my big sister."

Bruce came walking back into the room, and Jinx immediately tensed. She trusted Dick enough to hide behind his leg.

Bruce's eyes moved from Jinx to Jai.

"Did she fall asleep?" he questioned.

"She was exhausted. Apparently reading too much does that to her." Dick informed. Bruce nodded then turned his attention to Jinx. He knelt in front of her and his face softened slightly.

"You and your sister are welcome to stay here." He informed sincerely.

"Really?" Jinx questioned, a smile slowly creeping onto her face.

"Really. Now, come with me. I have Alfred setting up a bedroom for you and your sister." Bruce turned to Dick, who was still holding Jai. "Dick, can you carry her upstairs to one of the rooms Alfred is setting up?"

"Sure thing." Dick held Jai gently in his arms and he followed Bruce and Jinx up.

Bruce then showed Jinx to a prepared room.

"This is where you'll be sleeping, Jinx. Your sister will be in the room next to you." Jinx's face fell a bit from hearing that.

"B-but we always sleep together." She frowned. "She said she wanted me with her so if we needed to run I'd always be right there."

"But you won't need to run-"

"Bruce." Dick stated, cutting the other man off. "I think it'd be best for them to share a bed."

Bruce looked at the little girl and then the girl in Dick's arms. Jinx looked like the prospect of splitting the two up would be detrimental and Bruce could see the tears in the young girls eyes.

"I… understand. Dick, can you please put Jai into bed?" Bruce questioned and Dick nodded, carrying the girl into the room and lying her on the mattress.

Jinx jumped onto the large bed, pulled off her shoes, and then pulled off Jai's shoes as well. She then curled up next to Jai.

"Thank you." She said with a yawn.

"No problem." Dick smiled.

"Sleep well. We will discuss more things in the morning." Bruce nodded as he walked out of the room and turned out the lights, with Dick following behind.

Jinx looked at her older sister, kissed her on the cheek, snuggled closer to her, and then fell fast asleep.

Somewhere halfway through the night, Jai woke up. She was alarmed, waking up in the dark on a bed, however when she felt Jinx snoring calmly below her, she relaxed, realizing what must have happened after passing out.

This was the first time that Jai could ever remember lying her head on a pillow in a nice bed and not having to worry about something bad happening to her or lice or bed bugs being in the bed.

Kissing Jinx on the head, she laid down and fell back to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Constructive criticism welcomed. Please enjoy :)**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.3

When Jinx woke up, her scent was tickled by something. Something delicious that made her mouth water. Closing her eyes, the young girl sniffed the air, savoring the smell. Hearing Jai snoring softly next to her, Jinx looked over and tried shaking her sister awake.

"Jai." She whispered. The girl stirred a bit but kept her eyes shut.

"Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaai." Jinx whispered again and her older sister groaned.

"Not now, pup. Sleep." With that, Jai was snoring again. Jinx pouted a bit, but the smell was too enticing for her to simply go back to sleep.

Sliding out of the bed, Jinx padded softly across the floor of the room and out the door. She found herself in a long hallway and followed in the direction the scent was coming from.

However, she passed a room that she found herself halting in her steps at. It was a room with _books_.

Jinx loved books. All types of books. Jai would try to get her some when they were on the streets and take her to the library as well to read them. Some rainy days, they'd go to the library and Jai would sit on a chair in content with Jinx on her lap and Jinx would read the book out loud to Jai.

_"__You're so smart, Jinx." _Jai would smile. Despite how much Jai enjoyed hearing the stories Jinx would read to her, the older girl couldn't read. Words on the page would get jumbled up in her vision and made no sense, so Jai never made much of an effort to learn how to read.

Jinx walked into the room with books, her mouth hanging open from how much there were in one place.

Sure, the library had a lot of books too, but that was a building. This was just one room with shelves upon shelves of books.

Reading the titles on the side, Jinx picked out a fairy tale book and took it to a large chair, the smell completely forgotten. She sat in the chair, getting comfortable, and opened the book to start reading.

Jinx loved stories, especially fairy tales. She would imagine herself as the prince, running in to save the princess and defeat the terrible monster. Of course, sometimes a dark thought would creep into her mind, telling her that if this story was real life, _she'd _be the monster, but the young girl quickly blocked the thought from her head.

She was reading for about ten minutes when she was disturbed.

"Hello." A voice stated, and Jinx jumped, startled by the voice and looked up to see a young man she didn't recognize several feet away from her.

"W-who are you?" she questioned timidly, holding the book to her chest.

"My name's Tim. I live here with the others. You're one of the girls staying with us, right?" he questioned and Jinx nodded her head slowly. "Are you Jai or Jinx?" he questioned.

"Jinx. My name is Jinx." She informed softly.

Tim approached closer, making Jinx tense and try to push herself further back in the chair.

"What are you reading?" Tim questioned with curiosity, and Jinx stared at him, trying to tell if the boy would be a threat to her or not.

"A-a fairytale book." Jinx answered slowly.

"There's no need to be so afraid Jinx. I'm not going to hurt you." He informed gently. "Do you want me to read that to you?"

"B-but I already know how to read." Jinx stated, clearly perplexed and Tim just gave her a gentle smile.

"I can see that, but sometimes it can be fun to have someone else read the book to you too." Tim informed. Jinx looked at the young man and relaxed a bit.

He did seem nice. Not to mention that he knew the people that were letting her and her sister stay.

"Alright." She nodded and scooted over so Tim could sit next to her.

Gently lifting up the book from the girl's hands, Tim sat next to her and started reading.

~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~

Jai woke up with a yawn.

"Hey, pup, you asleep?" she inquired groggily, however nobody answered. "Jinx?" she questioned and looked at the space next to her to see that it was empty.

"Jinx?" Jai questioned again frantically and jumped out of the bed, looking around the room for the girl.

Jai's heart was thudding loudly in her chest as she ran out of the room and down the hall looking into each nook and cranny for the girl.

_What if something happened? What if I somehow read the shadows wrong and these are bad people? What if they hurt Jinx? What if Jinx got herself hurt? _All types of worries ran through Jai's mind.

She kept looking into rooms until she came upon an open door to a library.

Peering in, Jai saw her sister, but her heart was still thudding in her chest.

Jinx had fallen asleep on Tim's lap, but on her head were two hairy pointed ears. Both dog-like and black but one ear was flopped down.

Jai looked at Tim suspiciously.

"You must be Jai." He smiled kindly, but in a low voice so not to wake up Jinx. "My name's Tim."

"Nice to meet you." Jai said quietly, but looked at Jinx worriedly.

"I was told that you two were metas so her ears don't really surprise me. I mean, yeah, I was startled for a moment, but it made sense." He shrugged.

"She doesn't like morphing. She just wants to be normal." Jai sighed heavily. "When she gets content, she slips up. I don't mind it, but she does." Jai's eyebrows were furrowed in worry. "She won't want to talk all day." She murmured.

"I don't see the problem." Tim stated. "Why would she want to punish herself for morphing a bit?"

"It's… a long story. In short, she thinks morphing is bad, she thinks it makes her unhuman which is why she doesn't like doing it, and when she does, she will punish herself in one way or another."

"hmmm?" Jinx hummed as she slowly woke up and she let out a long yawn. She looked up at Tim, then over at Jai.

"Tim read me a story." Jinx informed with a smile.

"That's great, Jinx." Jai wasn't about to tell her about the ears. However, Jinx went to push away some of her hair, but then felt the furry tips on her head.

"I-I morphed." She whispered.

"Jinx, it's fine, the people here don't mind if you-"

"But I'm human." Jinx stated, cutting Jai off. Tim placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"You are human. The fact that you can change doesn't make you inhuman. Besides, I like your ears." He smiled, but Jinx frowned and looked down at the ground, however, her ears stayed on her head. The girl's face scrunched in concentration, but nothing changed.

She was finding it difficult to morph back.

"J-jai." She frowned eyes watering. Jai looked over at Tim.

"Can you give us a moment alone?" she inquired and Tim nodded, swiftly leaving the room.

Jai sat on the chair and let Jinx sit on her lap as she ran her fingers through the younger girl's hair.

"Alright Jinx, now I need you to take a deep breath in." the girl did so. "Now out." She did so again. Jai instructed the girl to continue breathing slowly and after some time stated, "Now, focus on morphing your ears back. Don't rush. Just focus and keep breathing."

Jinx followed the older girl's instructions and slowly, her furry ears changed back. Jai was used to coaching Jinx how to relax to morph back. However, Jai wished that Jinx wouldn't be so hard on herself about morphing.

"There we go. All better now." Jai smiled and Jinx just nodded.

"C'mon Jinx, it's fine. I don't think the people here would care if you let your ears show. They're cute-"

Jinx violently shook her head and Jai sighed, but kissed Jinx on the cheek.

"I wish you weren't so hard on yourself." She whispered, hugging the younger girl. Jinx didn't reply, but buried herself into the hug and Jai rubbed the girl's back, humming a calming tune.

After a while there was a knock on the door and Tim slowly opened it. There he saw Jai rocking Jinx back and forth while humming and patting her back. Jai looked so much more like a mother than an older sister.

Jai stopped humming and looked up at Tim.

"Uh, Alfred made some breakfast if you two want to come down to eat." He stated, and Jai smiled at him.

"Thank you, Tim." Jai said as she stood, holding Jinx in her arms. "Let's eat, alright?" she grinned down at the younger girl while Jinx slowly nodded, but didn't speak.

Jai followed Tim down the stairs, carrying Jinx in her arms as the girl rested her head against the older girl's chest.

Jinx started to perk up in the older girl's grasp at the scent of what she had smelt earlier that morning.

When they entered the kitchen, Jinx's eyes fixated on the plate of bacon and her stomach grumbled as her mouth watered.

"Bacon." She whispered and Jai smirked, happy that food was enough to get the younger girl to speak again.

"I fixed the two of you a plate, please feel free to eat some more after your done the first plate." Alfred smiled, beckoning to two plates at the table.

"Thank you very much Mr. Alfred." Jai said with a warm smile and Jinx latched herself onto the man's leg, hugging it tightly.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!" she said with excitement and Alfred patted the girl on the head.

"It is not a problem. You two should start eating up though. I believe Master Bruce wishes to speak to you afterwards." He informed and Jai nodded.

"Understood."

Jinx detached herself from Alfred's leg, letting the man walk out of the room, and then she practically inhaled the food on her plate and Tim chuckled as he watched. In a matter of moments the eggs and bacon had vanished from sight. However, she steered clear of the grapes that were on her plate. She then chugged down the milk and let out a long loud burp.

"What do you say?" Jai questioned.

"Excuse me." Jinx said in a smaller voice, and Jai smiled at the young child.

"Good girl." Jai then took the grapes off of Jinx's plate and gave the little girl her bacon.

"Don't you want to eat your bacon?" Jinx questioned and Jai just chuckled.

"You need to eat more to become stronger. Besides, I'll just eat your grapes since you can't eat them." Jai shrugged picking at the purple ovals on the stem. Jinx frowned a bit, obviously wanting Jai to eat some bacon too, but she knew better than to debate with the older girl, and ate the new bacon given to her at a slower pace.

It was silent as they ate, both girls clearly thinking about something. Jinx's face was a bit downcast, her thoughts traveling back to earlier in the morning when her ears showed.

_What if I morphed completely? That would be awful… I dunno if anyone would want to look at me other than Jai ever again. I gotta make sure I stay in control. I have to stay in control. _She thought. However, when eating the bacon, Jinx's ears eased out of her head again from her joy from the food.

Jai noticed but wasn't going to say anything and neither was Tim, who was eating his own plate of eggs.

Meanwhile, Jai mulled over the shadows that she saw and wondered what Bruce would talk to her and Jinx about. Bruce was a kind man, she knew that, but he was also a man who was put through terrible things throughout his life. It made Jai's heart hurt for a while, just thinking about everything that happened to him.

_His parents were murdered right in front of him, he's felt loss over a son, he's watched people he cares about suffer… It's amazing that Bruce can still manage to carry on living. _Jai thought.

"Good morning everyone!" Both of the girls jumped, startled from their thoughts as Dick came striding into the room.

"Morning, Dick." Tim grinned.

"Good morning." Jai nodded, trying to calm herself from being so startled.

"Morning Mister." Jinx smiled up at the man. She liked him. Jinx didn't know exactly why she liked him, but something in her told her that he was a nice man. Just looking into his big blue eyes told her so.

Dick was silent for a moment, noticing Jinx's ears, but then shrugged, remembering that she could apparently morph. He fixed himself a plate of eggs, then started to scratch Jinx behind the ears, which caused the girl to sigh in content.

"So this is what you meant by morph." He grinned. Jinx was deep in her own slice of heaven to even realize that she had slipped up. However, once the man was done petting her, she quickly realized her mess up and was doing her hardest to get her ears to go away. Once again, she was finding it difficult.

"Jai." She whispered, looking at the older girl with alarm.

"Jinx, it's safe here. Relax and let your ears show. Even if you morphed completely, it'd be fine. Don't worry about it right now." Jai said calmly, and before Jinx could try to debate, Jai started to scratch the back of the girl's ears, causing her to relax tremendously. She could probably sit there all day and let Jai scratch her behind the ears.

Unfortunately, Jinx swatted Jai's hand away.

"I'm human. Human's don't like be scratched behind the ear." She stated firmly, and then started to breath evenly, trying to focus on morphing her ears away again.

Slowly they disappeared and the girl let out a sigh.

Dick opened his mouth, about to say something, but then closed it, thinking better of it.

"Why don't you like morphing, Jinx?" Tim inquired in a gentle voice, and Jinx stared at him uncertainly.

"I… I'm human. So I don't like morphing. Cuz when I morph, I'm not considered human… and people don't mind hurting me… so I wanna be human." Jinx whispered. "I don't wanna get hurt again." Her eyes seemed to cloud up and Jai swiftly wrapped an arm around the girl and kissed her on the head.

"You're safe, pup. You hear me? _Safe_. You won't ever get hurt again and I'll make sure of it." Jai stated firmly, and the younger girl slowly smiled up at Jai.

Jai then looked up at the two men.

"Can you show Jinx and I to wherever Bruce is? Alfred said that he wants to speak to us." she informed, and Dick nodded.

"Yeah, I can show you two to Bruce." Dick smiled and Jai and Jinx followed the man out of the room after putting their dishes in the dish washer.

Jinx stayed comfortable between Jai and Dick, which made Jai relax. Jinx was a decent judge of character when it came to people and Jai knew that when Jinx opened up to someone enough to show that she was comfortable, it usually meant that this person was openly kind and outgoing. Sure, Jai knew that Dick had an open and friendly personality, but that was only because she read his shadow.

Why Jinx was able to sense those sort of things, Jai didn't exactly know.

"Here we go. Bruce should be brooding in there, but there's no need to be worried about anything. He can be a nice guy." Dick smiled.

"Thank you." Jai grinned, then walked into the office with Jinx hiding behind her, clutching onto the girl's pant leg.

"Good morning Mr. Wayne." Jai said politely, knowing how to speak to adults. She had been to too many job interviews that her way of speaking in this sort of setting was normal to her.

"Good morning Jai, I wanted to speak to you and Jinx about several things. Please, have a seat." Bruce stated.

"Thank you." Jai nodded, sitting down and Jinx plopped herself in the chair next to the girl.

"First off, I was hoping that you could write down all that you can remember about the Penguin and what he was planning to do with you two and where you were when he took you." Bruce informed, sliding over a pen and paper, and Jai's face paled. Jinx looked at the paper, Jai, then at Bruce saying,

"But Jai can't-"

"It's okay, Jinx." Jai said quickly, but her voice was gentle. Jai hardly ever spoke harshly to Jinx.

Jai grasped the pen and then her sloppy handwriting leaked out. She knew how to write, but it was a skill she didn't do too well in. Since she couldn't read, writing was nearly impossible with words being spelled out phonetically.

However, she knew that Bruce valued education.

_Jinx and I are staying at his house. I have to make sure he likes us enough to let us stay a bit more, at least until Jinx has had enough food to get her looking healthy again. I can't make myself look like an idiot. I can do this._ She thought as her hand wavered on the pen, creating more wiggles to her already sloppy handwriting.

"Jai." Bruce stated, and the girl looked up at him. "If you want to just tell me, I can write it down. it might take up less time as well." He informed, his voice even and calm.

"Uh… alright. Thank you." Jai nodded, biting her lower lip. _I hope he isn't upset. I hope he'll at least let Jinx stay a bit longer until she looks more healthy. _She thought and then went on to explain things about the Penguin.

Meanwhile, Jinx sat in the chair, swinging her legs back and forth as she listened.

"And then Penguin wanted to…" Jai's voice tapered off. "Mr. Wayne, may I ask my sister to leave the room. Some of what Penguin had in mind isn't… it's not nice." Jai informed.

"Of course." Bruce nodded, understanding what Jai was talking about.

Jinx didn't argue when Jai said that her and Bruce needed to talk about some adult things, and sat outside the door.

With that, Jai continued talking.

"Penguin was planning to… sexually assault us." Jai said the words slowly, making sure to choose the appropriate ones, and they made her cringe.

"Jai, I am well aware of why the thought of being sexually assaulted again would scare you." Bruce informed, reading the lines of fright on her face.

"How did you-"

"I do my research." Bruce informed with a shrug.

"So… you know about me." Jai said slowly. "I'm sorry for bothering you. I must look like an idiot-"

"You are a wonderful young woman Miss Jasmine Akiyama." Bruce stated firmly. "I know about you from reading your files and I am truly sorry for what happened."

"It's okay… it's in the past now. There's nothing much to do about it." she shrugged, trying not to remember the darkness known as her past. She was still trying not to break down at the fact that Bruce had just said her full name.

"I know about you." Bruce nodded. "However, I do not know about Jinx. Would you please explain how you two met and became so close?" he inquired.

"It was a rainy day." Jai whispered after a pause. "And poor Jinx looked so wet and cold…"


	4. Chapter 4

Chpt.4

Jinx sat on the other side of the door, trying to calm herself so she didn't feel so jittery. Having to sit still wasn't one of her favorite pastimes, so having to sit outside of an office was pretty boring to her. Especially when she didn't have much to do.

"Hey Jinx, what're you doing in the hall?" Dick inquired, walking by the door.

"Jai and Bruce are talking about adult stuff, so I have to wait out here." She frowned, a small pout forming on her lips. Jinx did understand that what was going on was important, but that still didn't stop her from getting bored.

"Well, while you wait, do you wanna play cards? I know I have a pack around here." Dick suggested and Jinx beamed up at the man in excitement.

"Sure."

The man left and quickly returned with a deck of cards, where the two then proceeded to play Go Fish.

"Got any threes?" Dick inquired and Jinx giggled.

"Go Fish."

"Aw man, I thought I had you that time." Dick laughed.

"Well… do you have any Kings?" Jinx inquired and it was Dick's turn to pout.

"Aw man."

Jinx liked Dick. She couldn't exactly put her finger on why, but he just gave off a friendly vibe that Jinx picked up on and enjoyed.

"Got any fives."

"Go Fish." Jinx giggled.

Yes, she enjoyed company like Dick.

Meanwhile, in the office, the mood was much more melancholy as Jai explained how she met Jinx. And for Jai, her memories went far back to when she was young.

_"__It's too expensive to send you to school, so you're going to spend the day over at Mr. Lewis' house. He'll teach you how to read and write. For free too. He's such a nice man." Jai's mother smiled as she threw on her jacket. "Meanwhile I'm going out to get a job. Go over to Mr. Lewis' alright?"_

_ "__Alright mom." Jai, ten years old, said as she watched her mom leave, and then got dressed herself. Her small fingers struggled with the buttons of the shirt, and when she looked in the mirror, she noticed how the buttons were misaligned. However, she figured that she looked fine enough to learn. _

_She had only met Mr. Lewis on several occasions. He seemed nice enough but… something about him. Jai couldn't really put her finger on it. _

_She went to his house where the tall man opened the door. His skin was pale and his clothes always seemed to hang off of his gangly frame. _

_ "__Jasmine, come in. come in." he smiled, letting the girl into his house. He then took notice of Jai's shirt._

_ "__Let me help you with your shirt. Your buttons are misaligned." He informed and Jai let him run his fingers up and down her shirt, fixing the buttons while his eyes lingered on her torso. _

_ "__Mom said that you were gonna teach me how to read and write." Jai informed with a smile once the man had finished helping her button her shirt. _

_She really wanted to learn. She always had trouble, the words floating off the page every time she tried to read. She thought that maybe this time would be different. _

_ "__Yes of course. However, I was hoping we could play a little game first." Mr. Lewis smiled._

_Jai didn't like the game. It hurt and made her cry and Mr. Lewis wasn't too nice during it. _

_Ever since then Jai would try to skip out on her "lessons" with Mr. Lewis, but some days her mother would make sure that she would go, saying an education was important. When Jai told her mother what Mr. Lewis was doing, she told Jai that that was just something that happened. _

_She even told Jai that that was how she made money for a while, back when her body was in prime shape. _

_Then when Jai was thirteen going on fourteen, she got pregnant. _

_ "__You're what?" her mother questioned._

_ "__I'm pregnant. I told you that Mr. Lewis was doing inappropriate things to me." Jai stated and her mother rolled her eyes._

_ "__Fine. we'll take you someplace so you can kill it and-"_

_ "__I don't want to kill it." Jai stated and her mother stared at her._

_ "__What?"_

_ "__I said that I don't want to kill it. I want to raise it. The baby will be my responsibility." Jai informed and her mother glared at the girl._

_ "__Do you know how expensive babies are? Do you know how expensive _you _are!? We can't afford a baby!" _

_ "__But I don't want to kill it! Maybe Mr. Lewis-"_

_ "__Mr. Lewis won't give a shit! Either kill it or I am not allowing you into this house anymore!" the woman screamed._

_With tears in her eyes, Jai shouted,_

_ "__FINE!" With that, she slammed the door shut and moved on. She did go to Mr. Lewis to tell him the news, and just like her mother, he wanted her to kill the baby. _

_Jai stormed away. She hated Mr. Lewis for doing what he did. She hated her mother for not caring. But this thing… this life in her stomach. She cared for it. and if she loved it, it would love her. Love her better than her mother and Mr. Lewis. She would care for it and it would care for her. _

_She truly wanted that baby._

_As the months dragged on and she worked odd jobs and squatted in buildings, she finally had to give birth to the baby. _

_She was in an acquaintance's house. The woman worked with her at one of the odd jobs Jai worked and offered her a place to stay while Jai was pregnant. The two weren't very good friends with differing ideals, but she was nice enough to let Jai give birth in the bathtub. _

_However, to Jai's heart wrenching discovery, it was a miscarriage. _

_Jai sobbed as she found a place to bury her child. She buried the baby in a shoe box in a nearby woods. _

_Due to the depression she was put into, she was out of a job and she stopped staying at the other woman's house. Jai just sat around in an ally, wanting to die. _

_One day it started to rain, and Jai noticed a little girl drenched in water from where she was staying in an abandoned building. The little girl was shivering from the cold and crying._

_ "__Hey, little girl." Jai called and the girl looked up at her. "Come here. It's warmer and out of the rain." _

_The little girl apprehensively made her way to Jai and in that time, Jai had read her shadow. _

_ "__You have such a sad story." Jai whispered. She then took off her sweatshirt and handed it to the little girl._

_ "__There, that should make you warmer." Jai smiled and the little girl started crying. However, she ran to Jai and buried her face into the older girl's shoulder. _

_ "__Shh, it's alright, Jinx, right?" _

_ "__Mhmm." The girl nodded, still crying._

_ "__My name's Jai." She informed. She hated her name Jasmine just because she remembered all the time Mr. Lewis screamed it. _

_ "__You're really nice Jai." Jinx informed. "Really nice and… and warm." The girl sighed heavily, curling up closer to Jai and falling asleep._

_Jai knew that it wasn't right, but looking down at Jinx, she thought about her baby. _

_As the days went on, Jinx stayed by Jai's side and they took care of one another. Jai went back out looking for work and making sure Jinx was alright while Jinx looked after Jai and would talk to her and hug her. _

_To Jai, Jinx was what she had wanted from her baby. She might have lost her child, but she found another one. One that she had cared deeply for. _

_ "__Hey, Jai?" Jinx questioned one day as they sat next to each other in an old warehouse they were staying at. _

_ "__Yeah, pup?"_

_ "__I love you." Jai smiled down at the girl._

_ "__Love ya too, Jinx." _

"So you met Jinx on the streets. Do you know where she got her abilities from?" Bruce inquired and Jai sighed heavily.

"No. I believe it's genetic and Jinx told me that she was on her own ever since she could remember. She spent a lot of her young years as a wolf, and people in the city would think she was a stray dog and feed her scraps and she would survive off of instinct. She'd morph into a human during different situations. She'd do it a lot if the dog catcher was nearby. However, she was also treated poorly as a wolf and would try to be a human more often. She wants to be completely human and hates her wolf tendencies. She doesn't know if she's a wolf who can turn human or a human who can turn wolf." Jai let out a long sigh, shaking her head. "Jinx worries a lot about this. I told her not to and that it didn't matter, but it matters a lot to her."

"I see." Bruce nodded. "Well, you and Jinx can stay here as long as you like until you can figure out what you want to do."

Jai stared at the man in shock. Her eyes then started to water, but she forced herself not to cry.

"Thank you so much, sir. You… have no idea how much this will mean to Jinx."

"It's not a problem, Jasmine."

"Please, call me Jai." Jai stated. She still didn't like hearing her given name, memories of Mr. Lewis still haunting her. Bruce seemed to pick up on this.

"Alright. I admire the care you have towards your sister, but while here, don't be afraid to let yourself be happy either." Bruce informed and Jai smiled.

"Thank you, sir."


End file.
